Trump urges House GOP to rally behind Mike Johnson in Speaker’s race

Former President Trump urged House Republicans on Wednesday to quickly rally behind Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) after he became the conference’s latest nominee for Speaker on Tuesday evening.

Trump weighed in after House Republicans wrapped up their fourth Speaker nomination vote since Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from the job, offering praise for each of the five candidates who put their name forward.

“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN!”

“My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST! LOVE, DJT,” he added.

Johnson became the fourth House Republican to be nominated for the role of Speaker in the roughly three weeks since McCarthy was ousted by an effort led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) were also nominated but ended their bids for the gavel after failing to rally enough support on the floor.

Trump has previously waded into the Speaker chaos, with mixed results.

He endorsed Jordan for the post, only for the Ohio Republican to lose three votes on the floor as some House Republicans remained adamantly opposed to his bid.

On Tuesday, Trump warned House Republicans against supporting Emmer, who voted to certify the 2020 election results. Emmer ended his candidacy just hours later.

Johnson, 51, has been the House GOP’s vice chair, a junior leadership position, since 2021. He is also a former chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House. 

He joined Congress in 2017, and in 2020 was one of the central lawmakers pushing a legal theory to reject President Biden’s election victory.